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Up on deck tonight is New Belgium’s La Folie Sour Brown Ale from the Lips of Faith series. This is my first beer from the Lips of Faith line and from what I understand, these beers are meant to push the envelope and allow some further creativity in the brewing process. I ended up with this particular bottle after a beer tasting one night at The Market at Washington and High. Not going to lie but as far as 22oz bottles in East Tennessee go, this one is a bit on the high side cranking in at $16.99. However, for beer that has aged in French Oak barrels between one and three years, the price doesn’t seem too terrible.

When I first poured this beer there were a solid two fingers of head but since I took my pretty time getting the camera ready and everything positioned just right all you see in the pic is about a pinky’s worth. I also immediately noted the carbonation and you can even see it sticking to the glass in the picture. While this is a cloudy beer it is very clear along the edges. You very easily get a sour apple scent, some cherry and a little bit of candy – do you remember what your Halloween bucket/bag/pillow-case of loot smelled like last year….er, uh…I mean, when you were a kid? All those scents meshing together – smells a little bit like that. On the first sip I was immediately reminded of a lambic but it is distinctively sour where as lambics tend to be more sweet. Definitely taste some Granny Smith green apples in there, there is some dryness which subtly reminds you of the oak barrel it lived in for a while, there’s some lemon, maybe a little cherry but the sourness stands out and lingers on your lips a bit. The warmer this beer gets the more distinctive the lemon flavor gets.

Final Snobs: Props to New Belgium for creating such a distinctive and unique beer. For those that are big on the sour beers – and I know you’re out there – you’ll dig this. For those that don’t like sour beers or sour period, this may not be your cup of tea.

Also, The Market is hosting a cooking demonstration/pairing/tasting with New Belgium on Monday, May 23rd at 6pm and this beer is currently on the agenda as is Ranger IPA – don’t think you’ll want to miss this one so give them a shout and get your name on the list! Additional post to follow!